


Partners in Crime (Mao Mao x Detective! Reader)

by Chichu2



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Detective, Eventual Romance, F/M, Mystery, Reader-Insert, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27595577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chichu2/pseuds/Chichu2
Summary: You are taking part in a cultural immersion program to relieve your boredom of daily life. The first stop is Pure Heart Valley, and you absolutely love it there, so you stay. Your first opportunity for a job goes down the drain after a monster attack, so, after you prove yourself worthy by discovering why it happened, Mao Mao asks you to be the sheriff Department's detective.
Relationships: Mao Mao Mao/Reader
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

Symbols/justwhatstuffmeans

Y/n - You're name  
C/n - City name

Rays of early morning light flicker through the blinds of your apartment, warming your skin. Your eyes don't hold the slightest weight of sleepiness, like they usually would at 4 am, but today they are wide awake ready to take in the cheery blue sky of day. You carefully fold every article of clothing and neatly pack it away in your bag, making sure to fit everything you'll need. Your chest feels lighter as you make sure the stove is off, the windows are locked, and, finally, you grab your bag and keys, locking the door behind you. You stride down the hallway of the apartment complex, footsteps emitting the bouncy rhythm of bliss, with your bus ticket in hand. Finally, you step outside, the fresh, brisk morning air greeting your cheeks. You're cold, hugging your coat tighter, but you give a sigh of relief.

"This is going to be so fun." You think, grinning to yourself. In the corner of your eye you spot the blurry blue figure of the bus station, the air feels as if it's swimming around you as you spin towards it. Pure happiness fills your heart as you come up to the station, but then, it ends as you're smile falls into a confused expression. You look down both sidewalks aimlessly. On either side of you, the street is empty with only the red leaves of Fall on the sidewalks. Your face went immediately from confused to disheartened as the fact came back to you that the people of c/n didn't exactly trust the outside world.

An ad on the bus station states the very reason you're standing there, and maybe the reason why others aren't. It says,"The many kings of our land have come together to bring us this cultural immersion experience! Join us for only $78.99!"

You'll admit, it was a bit pricy for just being a trip to relieve you're boredom, but from the moment you first saw that ad, you couldn't hold back your curiosity.

A few minutes of eager waiting pass. The bench is comfortable enough that you aren't too anxious for the bus to come, even so, as you glance down the street and see the bus on the horizon, you almost jump up with excitement.

The bus comes to a stop in front of you. You take a step forward and practically skip the last few steps. The door opens to reveal an adorable small yellow rooster with tiny wings and feet. You climb up the steps and smile politely, deciding to sit near the front of the bus. You try to mind your own business, but you can't help but giggle a little at noticing how short his limbs are. Both the pedals and steering wheel have been drastically elongated for him.

"Is he an adult? Can he drive?" You think to yourself, with both concern and amusement surely showing on your face by now. The tiny rooster doesn't seem to notice, thankfully, as the door shuts and he uses his little feet to make the bus take off down the street. Now it's a good time to see who else was on this trip, and you take that chance to look at the participants. It's a small group, consisting of a country-style ostrich, a corgi, an octopus made of leaves, a blue hedgehog with a yellow fox, and a strange looking pale creature with long fur on it's head, but that's bald everywhere else.

"That's a weird style choice, why would you shave all of your fur accept on your head??!" You think.

Suddenly, a tall elk next to the driver speaks. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the cultural immersion tour. We will be taking you to all kinds of exciting lands this week, AND we will be paying your hotel expenses!"

The small crowd and you cheer.

"Any questions?" The elk asks, looking around.

You're hand bolts up first, and he points at you. "What countries are we visiting?!" You ask with stars in your eyes.

"Oh- um," He clears his throat and looks to the side, "We won't be leaving the country..."

The crowd erupts into complaints of "I wasted my money!" and "This was false advertising!" You just sigh, and slouch into your seat.

The elk struggles to yell above the ceaseless complaints. "Enough!" He belts. "We promise you, that you will have a satisfying and immersive experience. Our nation is very diverse and very large, the places we are going to will bring the mind-opening experience you have been promised." 

The crowd goes quiet and the bus remains so for a long while. Eventually, a pink structure can be spotted coming up close. The elk stands once again.

"We bring you the first location of this tour," The pink ruby structure is in clear view as he says, "Welcome, to Pure Heart Valley!"


	2. Chapter 2

You're heart pumps faster and faster as the elk says proudly, "Welcome, to Pure Heart Valley!"

The door opens to reveal a beautiful town full of an assortment of cuddly creatures that remind you of the bus driver himself. In fact, the little rooster gets out with the rest of you, and is greated by the villagers with familiarity.

"Cluckins!" The other villagers group hug him.

The villagers who aren't, surround the rest of you and the group with pies, and quickly attach themselves to your legs as well ad the pockets of your coat. Your arms swoop down and you scoop them up, pressing the adorable creatures to your cheeks as you delight in their cuteness.

A light thumping can be heard coming through the crowd, along with the padding of paws, loud thumping, and the flapping of wings.

You open your eyes, awakened from the cuteness trance, to see a fancy lion, a black-furred samurai cat, a cyborg badger, and a tiny blue bat with a heart on it's chest.

The lion speaks, "Hello tourists! I am King Snugglemagne. Welcome to Pure Heart Valley, home of the Sweetie Pies. I'm sure you've already met our adorable citizens," He glances at you cuddling 3 of these creatures in your arms, "So let's get straight to more exciting topics! These three are the members of our sheriff department, Mao Mao, Badgerclops, and Adorabat. Here we are going to have them give a demonstration of what it takes to protect Pure Heart Valley from the forces of evil!" The king then belts, "QUINTON!!!!", and a bird with a big neck ruffle is immediately at his side, with a massive bag.

He points at the bag and yells, "Release the pirates!"

Quinton gives a subtle, sly smile and opens it wide, revealing a snake-orangutan creature, a rat, and a cyborg giraffe, all sitting down, tied together. He unties the rope.

Mao Mao looks surprised. "I can't fight them unprovoked! A hero never kidnaps for a demonstration." He says matter-of-factly. 

Badgerclops, with no care in the world, shoots the giraffe into the sky, and Adorabat is wrestling with the rat. Mao Mao, now flustered, pulls out his katana and sends the orangutan-snake into the sky. The audience breaks into whoops and an applause.

In the distance, the enemies shout, "We're okay!"

Mao Mao brushes off the embarrassment and comes back to his cool demeanor. He returns his katana to it's sheath while smirking at the audience, and you feel your face slightly heat up. 

"Where's Boss Hosstrich at?" Badgerclops questions, looking around calmly.

Mao Mao's eyes go wide. He takes out his katana, and quickly makes a U-turn around himself. He glares as his eyes dart around quickly, preparing for a sneak attack. But he realizes no one is there.

"You're right. Where is he?" He says, suspicious of his surroundings.

The cyborg-ostrich steps out of the crowd of tourists, and the sheriff department gets ready to fight.

"I'm on vacation." He states simply.

"Oh." The sheriff department says in unison, all relaxing their stance. A moment of silence passes.

King Snugglemagne has an anxious smile as he speaks, "Well, wasn't that... lovely! Our sheriff department faces weekly, to sometimes daily life-threatening beasts."

The leaf-octapus next to you quietly laughs to himself, "Really. Life-threatening?"

The King continues, "I think that's enough excitement for one day, don't you? All of you will be escorted to your free, one-night rooms in our kingdoms finest hotel! From now until tomorrow's departing, you will be free to do whatever you choose. Your tour guide, Mr. Grazer," The elk waves. "will be leading a tour of our kingdom, for those of you who prefer more guided experiences. Any questions?"

Many hands rise as the king begins answering, but you don't listen. You can't stop looking at Mao Mao. The black cat doesn't seem to notice your admiration for him, and that's fine for you, for now.

The King finishes answering the questions, and sends everyone away, giving us tourists directions to the hotel.

The directions are clear enough for you. You admire the scenery of the town, how the fall leaves create a different beauty in every city they appear in. Eventually, thoughts of Mao Mao sneak into your head, causing a smile to show on your lips.

You open the door to your room, and flop down on the bed, as sigh escapes your breath.

"Yup, I have a crush on him."


	3. Chapter 3

New symbols:

H/t - hand type (if your oc has paws, scaly hands, ect.)

The view from the hotel room is gorgeous. It's about 6:40 in the morning, you're too awake already to go back to sleep, but the way the pink sky illuminates the town makes up for it. The hotel only has two stories, but even from here you can see the entire plaza, with all of the adorable citizens ambling about.

A memory comes back to you...

"Y/n, this place has a great view! I'm so happy you're moving closer to me."

You're friend looked at you with absolute joy in her eyes. 

"I'm glad we'll be able to spend more time together." You replied, smiling back.

The memory of her brought back a whirl of emotions so strong it almost knocked you off your feet. You were lying to yourself for so long. The truth is, you didn't come here to relieve your boredom...

"W-what! Y/n... You're my best friend. I'm sorry... We can still stay that way, can't we?"

You fell in love with her, and confessed when the feelings were too strong to stay hidden. Yet, you knew what was coming...

"Of course, don't worry about it. It wasn't serious, anyway." You had said, hiding the hitch caught in your speech, as tears fought to expose themselves. "We'll always be best friends."

Months had passed, in which everything had gone back to the way it used to be. She eventually met someone, a guy named Anthony, and they were great together. He was a good guy, no matter how much you wanted to hate him. You told yourself you were over her, you shoved it down and told yourself a lie, somehow convincing yourself you were happy with this. It got so bad, that you're subconscious had to do you a favor, and give you a break by having you take this trip. Guardians are inside of us all.

A few hours later, you manage to pull yourself together.

"I need to get out of my head."

You stand up confidently and stride towards the door, h/t on the handle when you realize you're wearing barely anything yet. You go to your suitcase and pull out your outfit for the day. Now you head outside to see a small cluster of the tourist group in the plaza, with the elk pointing to the fountain. 

"While this isn't nearly as magnificent as the true Ruby Pure heart itself, it stands to show these people's pride of being citizens of pure heart valley." 

You all spend quite a few hours on the tour. First is King Snugglemagne's castle. It's covered with hearts and gold, and gold hearts. It's a massive and beautiful place, but by the end the group is exhausted from how much walking there was. 

Next, are a few of the many bakeries in Pure Heart Valley.

"That's probably how they have so many pies." You chuckle to yourself.

They're such adorable little shops filled with... you guessed it, pies! As well as an assortment of other mouthwatering deserts. You and the group find Badgerclops happily feasting on little cupcakes.

The tour ended at 12 for the group to split up and get lunch. You didn't have much money, so you went to the cheapest fast food joint they had, McMao. There's a "Help Wanted" sign on the door that you don't really pay attention to. On the roof of the restaurant, was a cutesy version of Mao Mao with a pink, backwards visor and a pink heart shirt. A speech bubble in neon letters is next to it saying "Mao Mao! Pow Pow!"

"They named it after him, that's adorable! But... I wonder what's up with the cutesy design? I prefer him the way he is now." You think.

You walk in and take a look at the dollar menu, and order a burger. You go sit down next to a purple donkey wearing a newsboy cap, she's sipping a coffee. She glances over at you happily, and holds out a few papers to you.

"Hey, can you tell me what you think of my article?"

This caught you off guard, but you happily oblige. "Sure!" You smile. Grasping it between your h/t, you give it a read through. It's about the latest monster attack, before you got here, and she goes into detail about the trio's battle against it. The majority of the report is cheesily optimistic, but there's a part at the end that catches your attention. 

"...our heros always valiantly fight off the monsters, but no one ever knows where they came from. If only we had a way to get to the root of the problem, find out where they're coming from..."

That part stands out to you for reason unknown to you at the moment. All you know is, while still cheesy, it's way better than the newspaper from c/n. 

"You're really talented, you know that?"

"Thank you, I worked extra hard on this one! My name is Scoop, what's your's?"

"I'm Y/n!"

"I've gotta go submit this to my publisher, but it was nice talking to you Y/n!" Scoop says as she leaves McMao, you wave. 

She's a possible friend, and that makes you so happy. Everything here makes you happy. This joyous feeling that has been bubbling inside you most of this trip is something you've never felt to this extent. This place that is so much better than c/n, these sweetypies, and Mao Mao, aren't things you want to leave.

You look at the "Help Wanted" sign on the door, and a crazy thought comes to mind.

"I'm staying."


	4. Chapter 4

"If I want to stay, I might as well start by applying here." You think.

Mind set, you stride toward the cashier, who is a hamster, noticing an empty cash register next to her, and ask how you can apply for a job, she happily leads you to the manager of the store. As the door closes she squishes her face through to whisper "Good luck!"

The manager of the store is a super tiny parakeet with a little tie. He's smaller than the rest of the sweetiepies. You chuckle inside for a moment, then approach him professionally.

"Hi, my name's (Y/n), and i'd like to apply here. I noticed there was an empty cash register and was wondering if that's an available position."

The bird chirped in a deep voice, "Yes, its open. I'm guessing you want to apply?

You said "yes", and went on with the interview.

You've had two jobs before this. When you were 19, you decided to pursue your dreams of being a detective, and took up and apprenticeship at the c/n police department. Years passed by of hard work and anticipation, but by the time you finally were qualified, they took it away. You had told a coworker in private that you're bisexual. He told your higher ups, they were homophobic.

With your dreams crushed, you tried to block them out and forget. You then got a job as a janitor at the local hospital, it was the only thing available at the time. Now, a year later, here you are.

"I'm happy to say that you're accepted!" He chirped, "If you want, you can start right now."

From what you remember, you didn't have anything else to do, so you stay.

"Oh, one more thing before you go." His words catch you before you leave, "Earlier you mentioned you don't have an address, correct?"

"Ah, right" You say, embarrassed.

"We have a former break room in the back of the hallway. It has a couch, but the room is a little bit worn down from not being kept up. If you don't mind that, we could let you stay here for about a week. We plan to tear it down soon, so we may as well get some last use out of it."

Your eyes widen from the shock of this hospitality.

"Are you serious? Thank you so much. I only had one night at the hotel-" You immediately remember you need to get your stuff back. "Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot that my stuff is still there. Would it be alright if I started after I went to move in to the room?"

"Absolutely!"

Stepping out of the office, the hamster girl is waiting at the side.

"How'd it go?" She questioned, as you walk together through the hallway.

"I'm gonna be working with you now as a cashier! Oh, but it wouldn't be right without knowing your name, would it?"

"I'm Holly, and you?"

"Y/n"

"When do you start, Y/n?"

"As soon as I can! I've just gotta take care of something real quick. I'll be back later."

You rush to the hotel, the time reserved for you to stay already over. Several minutes of confusion later, you find out the hotel staff save your stuff for you so it doesn't get stolen. A sigh of relief escapes your breath as you take everything to your new room in the back of McMao.

"You're back! Ready to get started?" Holly asks.

You eagerly nod, not knowing what's coming in the next few hours.

-Later that evening-

You have had an... interesting experience so far. After witnessing some of the very colorful personalities in this town, that's all you can say on the matter.

A pink rhino who you've learned is named "Pinky" routinely steals all of the straws and napkins for who-knows-what, making it annoying to have to always get more. It's rumored the employees used to lock them up so he couldn't do that, but Pinky would steal the case they were in too.

One of the younger customers just asked you what was in the meat, and you had no idea. Holly told you that it was from all of the monsters Mao Mao killed, that the village hasn't needed livestock since he came to town.

As soon as Holly said that, Mao Mao, Badgerclops, and Adorabat walk in.

"Mao Mao can I get nuggets?" Adorabat asks with a puppy face.

Mao Mao is clearly disgusted by the food, but complies.

"Yay!" Adorably screeches.

While Badgerclops is now in the middle of ordering one of everything, Mao Mao and you accidentally make eye contact. With your enormous crush on him, it's hard to keep your cool so you blush furiously and look away. He didn't seem to notice.

"Mao Mao, what are you getting?" Adorabat asks him.

"Heros don't eat junk food, Adorabat." He says it very seriously as Adorabat gets her nuggets and inhales them.

"Oh..." Adorabat gets a little sad as she looks the empty container in shame.

"Don't listen to him Adorabat, I eat this stuff all the time and I'm a great hero." Badgerclops encourages. "Besides, tell that to your cobbler, Mao Mao."

Adorabat's face lightens up, and Mao Mao starts to get defensive, but the moment is cut short by a very fast, loud thumping in the distance. It gets closer with each millisecond. Soon enough, it's here.

Mao Mao jumps into action, the unforeseen monster has just crushed the McMao in front of you.


	5. Chapter 5

The floor shakes as the skeleton monster crushes the McMao. A piece of rubble flies past your head but you dodge it in time and crouch under the counter. Mao Mao draws his sword and leaps into battle while Badgerclops and Adorabat rush to save the scrambling civilians, scooping them up before the rubble hits.

"Lunar Lash!" Mao Mao screams, as his katana slices the bones of the giant rat skeleton in two, and it crumbles to the ground. Mao Mao bows to the hopeful crowd of villagers, as behind him, the bones float into the air and reconstruct the beast.

The monster throws it's tail at Mao Mao.

"Watch out!" Adorabat yells. Badgerclops interjects and disintegrates the tail into ash mid-air. The grey dust falls the floor, and with it's stillness, the team knows how to defeat the monster.

"Piggyback Blaster!" The three shout in unison as Badgerclops creates powerful a triple cannon tower. Mao Mao and Adorabat hop into their size designated cannons, activate their blasters, and completely obliterate the beast.

The scene before you now is filled with ash and rubble. The monster's remains coat everything grey. Customers are in shock, but none hurt thanks to Badgerclops and Adorabat. The establishment before you has been absolutely demolished. You turn around to find everything behind the counter has been too. A moment of silence and the initial shock subsides, tears well up in your eyes and you start to sob.

"Badgerclops! We'll each check on half. Adorabat, you go get Camille and Honey to treat any injuries!"  
Badgerclops and Mao Mao comfort the villagers one by one.

Finally, you see Mao Mao's head appear behind the counter with deeply concerned eyes as you sob in front of him. He kneels to talk to you.

"Miss, are you okay? Is there anything you need?"

You look down at the floor, rubbing your eyes. The tears have slowed, but don't stop.

"This was the only place left for me to stay... I'm homeless and jobless now. I don't know what I'm going to do..." You say trying to hold back whimpers.

The green-eyed cat looks sympathetic.

"I'm sorry, this is all our fault for not stopping the monster sooner.." He's quiet now, but then he considers something for a moment. "Stay with us in the Sheriff Department for now. It's our duty to protect the citizens of pure heart valley and we've failed you, it's only right that we offer our help. It's up to you if you want to take it, that is."

His eyes show genuine kindness. Your heart thumps at his words. The hopelessness you felt about your future in Pure Heart is gone. Without thinking, you yell "Thank you!" and hug him tight. He stiffens from surprise. Realizing what you did, you pull away.

"S-sorry..." You apologize.

Mao Mao blushes, but regains his normal composure after a moment.

"You're welcome." He smiles warmly.

The moment stops short at Adorabat's return with Camille and Honey. The two gasp when they see the destruction. Badgerclops tries to reassure them.

"It looks bad, I know, but thankfully no one is hurt." 

He walks with Camille and Honey to show who needs their attention. Adorabat's batting wings slow and then she's on the ground, she walks over to Mao Mao, who's still sitting with you.

"What do we do now, Mao Mao?" She asks, wanting to help in any way she can.

"We've done all we can, Adorabat. Camille and Honey are going to take care of any injuries. I like your drive, but we're going home for now." Mao Mao says.

"Okay, I understand." Adorabat sighs.

Badgerclops is done showing the magical duo who needs help and joins the three of you.

"Hey Mao Mao, are we gonna head back now?" He asks, eating a charred burger he found on the floor. 

"Hang on just a second. Badgerclops, I have some news before we go. This may just cheer you up, Adorabat."

Adorabat perks up, "What is it?"

Mao Mao backs up from your side so Adorabat has clear view. You stand up, face red from being the center of attention.

"This is y/n, she'll be staying with us for a while."

Adorabat gets a huge grin on her face and shouts "Oh my GOSH! I'm so happy your gonna live with us!"

"Shh, we're still in a bad place for that Adorabat." Mao Mao says.

"Sorry..." She apologizes.

Badgerclops leans over to whisper to Mao Mao, "Um, are you sure about this? We don't even know her."

"She is a resident who needs our help, Badgerclops. Besides, if anything happens, we can take her." Mao Mao encourages.

"Alright, fine... And before you ask, I'm not giving up my bed."

"I guessed you would say that." Mao Mao turns to you, "Hey, Y/N."

"Yeah?"

"We're going back, but I- uh, gotta warn you it's a bit of a walk because..." Mao Mao looks Badgerclops in the eye, "SOMEONE forgot to fix the aerocycle."

"Calm down man, I'll get to it when I get to it.

Mao Mao starts to growl, but Adorabat cuts him off by saying "Okay, let's go!"

You leave the rubble behind and start to leave to your new, temporary (?) home. All while excited for your unpredictable future in Pure Heart Valley.


	6. Chapter 6

The sun is painting the sky many shades of red as it falls behind the mountains.

"So... how long have you guys lived here?" You ask while running a bit to catch up to their quick strides.

"We've been here for a while." The samurai cat answers. "What about you? We haven't seen you here before."

"This is my second day. I was originally here for the cultural immersion tour, but I decided to stay permanently after seeing how great this place was!"

"So you just impulsively left everything behind without a plan?" Badgerclops questions, making you sheepish. "I think we're gonna be friends."

You smile. His earlier suspicion about you has melted away.

"What was your life like before?" Adorabat asks, and catches you off guard.

"Uh, well..." You proceed to give them a summary of the life you left behind.

"That's so sad! If you want to be a detective, maybe you can work with us." Adorabat hugs your arm.

"I don't know if they'll just allow a stranger to-"

"We'll see." Mao Mao cuts you off. Adorabat grins.

And with that, you've all made it to HQ. The sun has set, leaving the starry sky with no colors except a dark navy blue.

Stepping in, you notice how huge their home is, but it has an unexpected cozy feeling as well. You already feel relaxed here.

Mao Mao says "I guess it's about time we all go to bed, huh? Do you mind taking the couch? I'm willing to trade my bed if you would like, but just be careful of my weapon stash."

"The couch is good! Thank you."

And soon, your sleeping place is complete. Mao Mao incessantly asks if you need more blankets, which you assure him you'll be fine with one. His worry over you is sweet, making you blush a bit.

Badgerclops pulls you aside to explain that Mao is just nervous about what to do since they've never had a guest sleep over (Adorabat doesn't count since she lives there).

A few hours later, you're lying on the couch, still awake. The events of the day play over and over again in your head. Just as soon as you were going to get up and clear your mind, there was a knock on the door.

Not wanting to wake the others up, you answer it yourself and find Camille and Honey with concerned faces.

"Hello. We need to speak with Mao Mao."

Nodding, you make your way to wake up Mao Mao. While explaining who's at the door, and he wakes up Badgerclops too since this sounds important.

The three of you huddle while Camille explains why she came.

"We sensed a dark magic surrounding the dust. That means that someone out there created the monster for more than just feeding. I worry they may seek the Ruby Pure Heart. There is a trail that leads into the forest, Honey and I attempted to follow, but it stretches miles out of the valley where it's much to dangerous for us Sweetypies to go."

Mao Mao looks serious. "I see... Well obviously we'll have to track that things origin, but not all of us can go. Badgerclops, you'll stay here with Adorabat and protect Pure Heart Valley until I get back. And y/n, you said you were a detective, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this may just be your chance to prove yourself. Let's go.


	7. Chapter 7

The two of you make your way into the dense forest.

"I can already see a faint glow."

"It'll be easy to follow until morning, but by then the sun will be too bright. We'll have to stay put during the day so we don't lose the trail. We don't know how long this journey will last, but lucky for you, I'm an expert at wilderness survival." Mao brags.

"Then I'm lucky to have you." You smoothly reply, glancing his way.

His cheeks become dusted with pink. "Of course. It's my sworn duty to protect the citizens of pure heart valley."

It seems you made things a tad awkward. You hike together in silence through the forest for while. Nothing but the sound of crickets and mice skittering through the brush. A few minutes pass, then a rattling and a cracking sound can be heard to the right of you. You yelp and leap left as the dark-furred sheriff unsheaths his katana. Trees are falling one by one until the creature is finally within view, it's a glowing rattlesnake the size of a 2 story building! Eyes locked on it's target, it races forward, fangs bared at Mao Mao. The samurai cat leaps into it's jaws with a determined glare.

"Mao Mao!" You gasp.

Within seconds, you see a slit appear at the beast's side, it continues to elongate with the flow of gravity. The snake falls to the floor and Mao strolls out, completely unharmed.

You breath a sigh of relief and hurry up to him, halting as soon as you see up close that he's covered head-to-toe in digestive fluid, "I think... you should get cleaned up."

He studies himself and laughs.

"Haha! Yeah, let's go find a river."

"I- I coming with you?" You blush, taken aback.

"Yeah, we need to stick together. You can sit behind a bush. Come on."

You and the black cat trek through the black thicket, marking your way with a trail of sticks as to not get lost. The two of you follow the sound of flowing water, until you find a stream. You sit behind a bush as he steps into the water to wash off the substance.

Your eyes start to drift off to the left as you lose focus, but you snap them back in front of you as you realize where they were going. You try to shake off your embarrassed expression before you hear Mao returning from the river.

"O-oh, hi! You ready to go?" You ask.

"Yup, let's get back on track!"

There's one issue, the path of sticks you left is almost impossible for you to see in the dark (sorry if your oc is a cat). Mao notices you're having a hard time, and reaches out his hand to guide you. You accept his caring gesture, and he carefully guides you through the night.

When you return to the illuminated path, a concerning question pops into your mind.

"Hey, Mao Mao?"

"Yes?"

"Is someone... out to get us?"

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Monsters always have a reason for attacking. Am I right?

"They attack because they're hungry, most of the time. Though, the skeleton was one of the cases where there's more to it. Why do you think they need a reason?"

"Oh, I heard it from Scoop. It seems the Sweetiepies must be a bit out of the loop, huh?"

"I think I'll need to call a meeting and explain it to them." He sighs.

You give a chuckle at this, and look up at the sky. The unfortunate sight of a rising bright orb on the horizon brings a frown to your face.

"Ah- Mao? There's another thing."

"What is it?" He tilts his head at you.

"It's gonna be daytime soon."


End file.
